<nettime> the thing with Europe

[Morlock Elloi <morlockelloi@gmail.com>]

> Or maybe it's time to put down our phones, pick up shovels and start laying fibre.
> I don't know.

This, of course, is the only solution. If all other arguments fail, 
consider that this gets you to the jail fastest. QED.

---

Europe was mentioned several times recently as alleged potential for 
doing good stuff, breaking MAGAf, regulating, taxing, creating communal 
infrastructure etc.

If Europe resembled anything from the 1983 Stuttgart Declaration, then 
this would be a reasonable hope and actionable direction.

It doesn't.

It's a 2nd class neoliberal financial cartel, dominated by US directly 
and via proxies (DE, UK.) Pipe dreams notwithstanding, this is not 
changing any time soon. The smartest ones  gravitate to US, because 
becoming rich CEO or semi-rich CTO is more attractive than championing 
community issues. Most Europeans have foreign cellular and landline 
providers - they couldn't even fix that, and they are going to 
communalize and regulate Internet?

"Europe" has, in the progressive circles, the same sinister role that 
Democratic Party had in the US: capture, coopt and subvert anything that 
endangers the system. It is no wonder that right-wingers are doing so well.

Forget Europe. If anything happens, it will happen in the heart of the 
Empire, where shovels and the shoveling drive exist.


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